It wasn't completely smooth sailing for the Moravian Academy boys tennis team on its way to an 11th consecutive District 11 Class 2A title.
The Lions had to go to their bench in the semifinals on Tuesday due to missing a few starters.
They still swept Palisades in the semifinals and posted another 5-0 victory over Allentown Central Catholic on Thursday at Northwood Racquet Club in Lower Nazareth Township.
"The key is our depth," Moravian Academy first-year coach Rick Brown said. "Tuesday, we were missing 2, 3 and 7 and we still won 5-0. All 10 kids played a part in our success this year. It's just not the Top 7. We have kids that can play. I just try to keep them motivated and have fun."
Moravian Academy takes home the trophy after defeating Central Catholic in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Senior Robbie Shaff won 6-2, 6-1 over Central Catholic's Johnson Zhou at No. 1 singles to give the Lions an early advantage.
Moravian Academy junior Cyrus Elmi then made it 2-0 with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 2 singles over Andy Feng.
Elmi missed the semifinal match with the flu, but looked fully recovered on Thursday.
"It's a nice tradition," Elmi said about being part of Moravian Academy's tennis dominance. "Growing up, I saw my brother (Daniel Elmi) win states his freshman year. He won districts his senior year for singles. That just pushes me to become a better player. I feel like I need to do more than he did. We're competitive. Just seeing all this winning pushes me to become a better player."
Moravian Academy's Robbie Shaff took on Central Catholic's Johnson Zhou in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Ryan Hoffman and Jules Bemporad posted a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Ben Carbonetto and Ian Arnold at No. 1 doubles to clinch the championship.
"It feels great to win today, but also it just means a lot to be continuing this legacy of Tom Schoeninger, my big brother (Zach Shaff), Coach Rick, all the players that we looked up to as little kids. Just continuing our tradition of giving it our all and hopefully winning the district tournament, which we did today," Shaff said.
Michael Phenneger and Archie Debage earned a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Cam Patridge and Jesse Coulter at No. 2 doubles for the Lions.
Deepak Shanker closed things out for Moravian Academy at No. 3 singles with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Dylan Alvarez.
Central Catholic's Johnson Zhou took on Moravian Academy's Robbie Shaff in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019, at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
The second-seeded Vikings beat Saucon Valley in the semifinals and finished the season with a 13-5 record.
"It's been a very successful season for us," Allentown Central Catholic coach Jeff Biro said. "These young student-athletes have been a pleasure to coach. They stayed focus. They enjoy each other's company. They practice enthusiastically. And they've represented their team and their school and their faith well. I'm very proud of them."
Moravian Academy's Ryan Hoffman (pictured) and Jules Bemporad took on Central Catholic's Ben Carbonetto and Ian Arnold a double match during the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
The top-seeded Lions improved to 17-1 on the season and will play the District 12 champion on May 14 in the first round of the state tournament.
After longtime coach Tom Schoeninger stepped down after last season, Brown's head coaching debut at Moravian Academy has earned high praise.
"Coach Rick was the assistant coach for Coach Tom, but every person on this team would tell you that Coach Rick was such an important part of our success. So, we had no worries with him coming in as a head coach. He's done an amazing job. He's just carried on what we've always done and helped us play the best that we can play every day," Shaff said.
Moravian Academy's Deepak Shankar took on Central Catholic's Dylan Alvarez in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Central Catholic's Andy Feng took on Moravian Academy's Cyrus Elmi in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019, at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy takes home the trophy after defeating Central Catholic in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy's Cyrus Elmi took on Central Catholic's Andy Feng in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019, at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Central Catholic's Andy Feng took on Moravian Academy's Cyrus Elmi in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019, at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy's Robbie Shaff took on Central Catholic's Johnson Zhou in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019, at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Central Catholic's Dylan Alvarez took on Moravian Academy's Deepak Shankar in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019, at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Central Catholic's Andy Feng took on Moravian Academy's Cyrus Elmi in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy's Cyrus Elmi took on Central Catholic's Andy Feng in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy's Cyrus Elmi took on Central Catholic's Andy Feng in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Central Catholic's Dylan Alvarez took on Moravian Academy's Deepak Shankar in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy's Ryan Hoffman (pictured) and Jules Bemporad took on Central Catholic's Ben Carbonetto and Ian Arnold a double match during the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Central Catholic's Johnson Zhou took on Moravian Academy's Robbie Shaff in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Central Catholic's Dylan Alvarez took on Moravian Academy's Deepak Shankar in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy's Robbie Shaff took on Central Catholic's Johnson Zhou in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Central Catholic's Ian Arnold (pictured) and Ben Carbonetto took on Moravian Academy's Jules Bemporad and Ryan Hoffman a double match during the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy's Jules Bemporad (pictured) and Ryan Hoffman took on Central Catholic's Ben Carbonetto and Ian Arnold a double match during the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Central Catholic's Ben Carbonetto (pictured) and Ian Arnold took on Moravian Academy's Jules Bemporad and Ryan Hoffman a double match during the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy's Deepak Shankar took on Central Catholic's Dylan Alvarez in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy's Deepak Shankar took on Central Catholic's Dylan Alvarez in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy's Michael Phenneger (pictured) and Archie Debbage took on Central Catholic's Cam Patridge and Jesse Coulter in a double match during the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Central Catholic's Johnson Zhou took on Moravian Academy's Robbie Shaff in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy's Deepak Shankar took on Central Catholic's Dylan Alvarez in the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Moravian Academy's Jules Bemporad (pictured) and Ryan Hoffman took on Central Catholic's Ben Carbonetto and Ian Arnold a double match during the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Central Catholic's Jesse Coulter (pictured) and Cam Patridge took on Moravian Academy's Michael Phenneger and Archie Debbage in a double match during the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Central Catholic's Jesse Coulter (pictured) and Cam Patridge took on Moravian Academy's Michael Phenneger and Archie Debbage in a double match during the District 11 AA Boys Team Tennis Finals on Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Northwood Racquet Club in Easton. (Chris Shipley | lehighvalleylive contributor)
Josh Folck may be reached at jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshFolck. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
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